Genoa City Break from the UK — Weekend Guide & Itinerary

Overview

Why Genoa for a city break?

Genoa is Italy's most overlooked major city and one of its most rewarding — a place that doesn't try to please you and is better for it. The caruggi (medieval alleyways) of the historic centre form the largest medieval urban fabric in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of extraordinary density: five-storey stone buildings that block out the sky, sudden piazzas opening in the dark, chapels and palazzi at every corner. The Palazzi dei Rolli — the Renaissance palaces of Genoa's merchant aristocracy, also UNESCO-listed — are the finest collection of 16th-century domestic architecture in Italy. Genoa gave the world Christopher Columbus, pesto alla Genovese, focaccia and the shipping container. The Cinque Terre are 90 minutes by train.

From London it's just over two hours — Ryanair flies from Stansted to Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport; easyJet from Gatwick. The airport is 6km from the centre (Volabus, 25 minutes, €6). Go from April to June or September to October — the heat is manageable, the caruggi are cool and the Ligurian Riviera is at its finest. July and August are very hot; Christmas brings one of Italy's finest presepe (nativity scene) traditions to the city's churches.

Where to stay & explore

Genoa's best neighbourhoods

Centro Storico & the Caruggi

The medieval heart — the largest medieval urban fabric in Europe, the Porto Antico waterfront, the Palazzi dei Rolli on Via Garibaldi and the densest concentration of Genoese character.

Via Garibaldi (Strada Nuova)

The Renaissance street of Genoese merchant palaces — Via Garibaldi is UNESCO-listed and arguably the finest street of domestic Renaissance architecture in Italy.

Castelletto & Zena

The hilltop neighbourhood above the old city — reached by the Castelletto lift, with the finest views of the port and the most local residential character in Genoa.

Things to do

What to see in Genoa

1

Via Garibaldi and the Palazzi dei Rolli

The finest street in Genoa and one of the finest in Italy — Via Garibaldi was built in the 1550s as a street of palaces for Genoa's merchant aristocracy, the Rolli families whose wealth rivalled the crowned heads of Europe. The Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco (both now city museums with extraordinary painting collections — Van Dyck, Rubens, Caravaggio) and the Palazzo Doria-Tursi (now the city hall, with Paganini's violin in its collection) are all on the same block. Walk the street slowly; every building is a monument.

2

The Caruggi

The medieval alleyways of Genoa's historic centre are the largest medieval urban fabric in Europe — 135 hectares of UNESCO-listed streets so narrow that the five-storey buildings create perpetual shadow at street level. Get deliberately lost: the caruggi reward aimless wandering above any guided route. The Piazza San Matteo (the private square of the Doria family, surrounded by their Gothic palaces), the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo and the Porta Soprana (the 12th-century city gate near Columbus's claimed birthplace) are the anchors.

3

Porto Antico and the Galata Museo del Mare

Genoa's historic harbour, redesigned by Renzo Piano for the 1992 Expo Colombiana celebrations — the Aquarium of Genoa (the largest in Italy, extraordinary), the Biosphere tropical greenhouse, the Galata Museo del Mare (the finest maritime museum in the Mediterranean, covering Genoa's 1,000 years as a seafaring power with a full-size reconstructed 17th-century Genoese galleon). The Porto Antico promenade at sunset, with the old lighthouse (La Lanterna, 1128) in the background, is the finest image of the city.

4

Castelletto and the city panorama

The Castelletto ascensore (lift, €0.70) from Piazza Portello rises to a hilltop terrace with the finest panorama of Genoa — the port, the caruggi rooftops, the Ligurian coast curving towards the Cinque Terre. Free to visit the terrace at any hour; the lift runs until midnight. The walk down through the Castelletto neighbourhood — 19th-century residential Genoa, very local, very quiet — is one of the most pleasant in the city.

Food & drink

Where to eat in Genoa

Ristorante Zeffirino

Classic Ligurian / historic

Genoa's most historic restaurant — in operation since 1939, a series of dining rooms where Frank Sinatra, the Pope (Benedict XVI stopped here on a visit to Genoa) and every notable Italian of the past 80 years has eaten the house pesto. The trofie al pesto (the definitive version), the trenette with pesto, green beans and potatoes, and the pansoti with walnut sauce are all exceptional. Book ahead.

Trattoria Rosmarino

Modern Ligurian / Castelletto

The finest modern Ligurian restaurant in the city — a small trattoria in the Castelletto neighbourhood serving impeccably sourced Ligurian produce: local seafood, Ligurian olive oil, pesto made with Pra basil (the finest variety, grown in the hills west of Genoa) and Ligurian white wines. Book ahead.

Focacceria di Teobaldo

Focacceria / Caruggi

The finest focaccia in a city famous for its focaccia — Genoese focaccia (low, oily, dimpled, topped only with sea salt and olive oil) is the correct breakfast, eaten standing at the bar with a cappuccino. Teobaldo's version is the definitive one in the caruggi. Also excellent: the focaccia di Recco (thin, filled with fresh cheese), sold here from midday. Under €3 for the finest breakfast in Italy.

Itinerary

3 days in Genoa — a suggested itinerary

Day 1

Via Garibaldi, the Caruggi, Porto Antico at dusk

Volabus from the airport to the city centre (25 minutes). Walk straight to Via Garibaldi — the Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco museums (the Van Dyck collection in the Rosso is extraordinary). Walk north into the caruggi: get lost in the Piazza San Matteo area, find the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, emerge at the Porto Antico. The Galata Museo del Mare — the reconstructed galleon and the Genoese seafaring history. Walk the Porto Antico promenade to La Lanterna lighthouse at dusk. Trattoria Rosmarino for dinner (booked ahead).

Day 2

Aquarium, Castelletto lift, pesto lunch

Aquarium of Genoa at 9am (book online — it gets busy). The Biosphere greenhouse next door (Renzo Piano, 1992). Walk back through the caruggi to Piazza Portello for the Castelletto ascensore — the hilltop view, the neighbourhood walk down. Focacceria di Teobaldo for the late-morning snack if you haven't already. Zeffirino for lunch (the trofie al pesto). The afternoon free for deeper caruggi exploration: the Piazza delle Erbe neighbourhood has the best independent bars and aperitivo culture. The Porta Soprana and the Columbus house remains.

Day 3

Cinque Terre day trip or the Ligurian Riviera

The Cinque Terre — five coastal villages clinging to Ligurian cliffs between La Spezia and Sestri Levante — are 90 minutes from Genoa by direct train (Cinque Terre Express, €14 return, runs regularly). The most manageable day trip: Vernazza (the most beautiful village) and Monterosso (the largest beach), connected by the Sentiero Azzurro coastal path when open (trail conditions vary; check cinqueterre.com). The pesto pasta and the focaccia di Recco at any village restaurant are excellent. Return to Genoa for a final aperitivo in the Porto Antico before the Volabus to the airport.

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